Providence photographer shares passion for old homes

Julia Barber grew up in an old house – you know the kind – with an ongoing list of DIY repairs and marks on the wood trim from previous inhabitants. Reflecting, she says that with all its “nooks and crannies”, her childhood home felt like a time capsule just for her to explore. Today she makes her home in a little triangle-shaped garret in the Mount Hope section of Providence. An art and architecture historian, self-proclaimed consummate nerd, and photographer who still loves scouting old houses, she earned her PhD in the history of photography from Brown University in 2018, and says that ever since she’s been brainstorming ways to make that education accessible to a wider audience.

“So much of our cultural history – good and bad – is built into these structures, including systemic racism, class divides, and xenophobia, so for me, it’s not just about the beauty of the houses I find. In many ways, architecture is a useful lens to learn more about our history on a very personal level,” says Barber.

While at Brown, Barber explains that she craved a creative outlet outside of academics and began taking long walks around the city to clear her head. “I began to notice door knobs and knockers and then broadened my focus to the many other details that tell the story of a house.” She created an Instagram account and named it Sea of Steps after a 1903 photograph by Frederick H. Evans of a stone staircase in England. “Other people seemed to appreciate my photographs and before long I was hooked on searching for and sharing the beauty around me.” At last count, “other people” numbered close to 16,000 followers: an engaged group that enjoys regular posts like #MansardMonday and #TriangleTuesday along with near-daily uploads of colorful properties captioned with historical tidbits, information about features like gables and turrets, and her own musings.

Favorite haunts for spotting architecture include Broadway, Atwells, and the Elmwood neighborhoods in Providence; the North End Historic District in Woonsocket; and the stretch of 114 running through Warren and Bristol; along with Fall River and New Bedford in nearby Massachusetts which Barber describes as being “saturated with jaw-dropping old homes.” When she’s not traversing Southern New England,

Photography by Julia Barber

SECOND EMPIRE, PROVIDENCE

This beauty has a perfect paint job highlighting its ornate wooden decoration, and I’m obsessed with that roof cresting.

LIGHTNING SPLITTER, PROVIDENCE

Lightning splitters became popular in Rhode Island in the mid-1800s. They were believed to deflect the strength of lightning strikes!

FOLK VICTORIAN, SCITUATE

This is another house I’ve been in love with for years! Look at that ridiculous porch woodwork. There is absolutely no reason for it to be there except for a little extra beauty – and what a wonderful reason to put it there!

OCTAGON HOUSE, RICHMOND

Octagonal houses became a fad in the 1850s, when they were widely advertised as lighter, cooler, and more spacious inside than traditional square homes. An older folk belief held that the devil would find no corners in which to hide in an octagonal house.

SECOND EMPIRE, BARRINGTON

The frothy white gingerbread around the interruption in the mansard roof is such a tasteful way of drawing attention to this unique feature of the house.

STICK STYLE, WANSKUCK

I love a house with a bold color scheme. Here, the dark blue-purple accent color makes the dragon at the top of the main gable pop!

Barber’s Tips for Landmark Style

“You absolutely can’t go wrong with an anchor-shaped door knocker in Rhode Island. For the more daring, there are knockers shaped like octopi, horseshoe crabs, and of course, Cthulhu. IMHO, the best way to give your home a Rhode Island sense of place is to direct visitors there using only businesses that have been closed for 20+ years as landmarks.”

Barber is busy at work writing a guide to old homes titled How to Read a House. “The historian in me loves a perfectly preserved old house; the realist in me appreciates that old houses have to live in the present. These buildings are often prohibitively expensive to maintain to historic standards, and I’d always rather see a house lived in and loved than standing empty. At a time when our country is facing an unprecedented housing crisis, it is imperative that we invest in adaptive reuse strategies that allow old houses to serve the needs of today’s communities.”

Structural issues aside, when it comes to aesthetics, Barber loves “an outrageous Queen Anne house: towers, decorative woodwork, stained glass, and a paint color scheme that shows off all the intricate details.” She is also drawn to houses mid-renovation where passersby can witness a homeowner thoughtfully restoring the structure one part at a time. “Bonus points if it looks obviously haunted,” she says with a smile. @seaofsteps

Long Live the Queen Victorian

Sweenor Builders heads a long list of local talent that went into refurbishing This Old House

By Elyse Major

Many of the home’s original stained-glass windows were restored

Isaw the house for sale and knew it would be a great This Old House project but there was no owner at the time,” recalls Jeff Sweenor, president and CEO of Sweenor Builders in Wakefield. Sweenor called the listing agent to discuss the Folk Victorian he spotted, located in Narragansett’s historic district. A true diamond in the rough, the home, thenknown as the Daniel A. Caswell House, had a deteriorating porch and rotting roof but also boasted prized features like a sunburst detail at the front of the house, “rising sun” patterned clapboards, and an original decorative stained glass window, among other details prized by admirers of old architecture. “When they procured a buyer, I reached out to This Old House. They came to take a peek and knew it was a great fit for the show.”

For those just tuning in, 20 years before there was HGTV, there was This Old House. The PBS show truly launched a new television genre and four decades later continues to garner high ratings and empower home remodelers both pro and DIY. Sweenor explains that four years ago Tom Silva, a general contractor for the show, visited a Sweenor site for a brief tryout. “We built a custom curved deck with him. They filmed the segment and about a week later I got a call from the CEO. They said they’d like to incorporate Sweenor Builders!”

Known today as the Seaside Victorian, Sweenor relays that the first thing his crew did

VOL. 26 2 NO.

SUMMER

BACKYARD PATIOS / DIY HERB PLANTER / OUTDOOR SHOWERS / IDEA HOUSE PREVIEW 2021

Skillful restoration brings a Queen Anne’s details back to life

And adding on builds in modern comfort and convenience. See page 24 for the full reveal!

As Seen in the Summer 2021 issue!

TOH PROJECT #79 The Seaside Victorian Cottage Narragansett, Rhode Island

“was go around and document every little detail with photos, videos, sketches, and notes” of the house built between 1887 and 1890. The intent of these records is for reference, to keep the original home’s integrity on file and cite elements large and small, such as front gable rake, siding and trim detail, bay window bracket detail, and door roof overhang and bracket detail. “The list goes on, and we did actually bring certain items back to the shop to either repair or replicate exactly, but the documentation process allows us to look back at every little detail to ensure the home keeps its historic architectural detail.”

Along with mindful restoration projects, the property was treated to new construction, including a garage with master suite above, with the middle of the home joined by a mudroom, bathroom, and hallway. The wraparound front porch was completely rebuilt and VaproShield, a barrier to the salty air, was installed to the framework; fresh cedar shingles, now painted in two contrasting shades of blue, cover the exterior. A new shed complements the Victorian architecture, the driveway was refreshed with cobblestone work, and there is an outdoor kitchen with a fireplace.

“We strive to incorporate the previous layout and exterior details whenever possible. In this case, we were aware there was a fair amount of rot, deterioration, and structural damage, but did what we could to preserve and restore everything possible,” says Sweenor. “It’s an honor to be able to showcase our company’s craftsmanship on national television for an iconic piece of Narragansett history.”